Footnotes on Tacloban’s HUC bid

By CHITO DELA TORRE
September 18, 2008

A big sign board still hangs infront of the fish market at Tacloban City’s reclaimed site in the supermarket area.  It proclaims that the “improvement of drainage system” project at the fish stall market building at Quezon boulevard, with a project cost of P448,559,52 (there’s an error here: the comma before “52” should be a dot, otherwise the figure would read 448 million or something), has a work duration of “45 calendar days”.  It also contains this message attributed to city mayor Alfred S. Romualdez (his handsome facial photo is there): “Padayon an pagpauswag Tacloban Yes to highly urbanized”.

Eyes of market-goers have not been on that signboard for the nth time that I went there to buy fish.  They were on the fish species for sale, mostly outside of the building where stalls are supposed to be the only place where fish should be displayed and sold.  Have Taclobanons cared not to notice the project, and the “highly urbanized” campaign slogan? These are important matters which they should be concerned about and give their support to.

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For the first time, last Sunday evening, as I was looking for a trip back to Basey town to deliver additional applications for agrarian titles (SP Form No. 1) which I reproduced upon reaching Tacloban from Cogon, I found out that the city now has a new look of a passenger taxi cab. It was waiting for paying passengers bound for Basey.  It had 3 young riders already seated and 5 seats were vacant.  I paid P40 for each of the vacant seats and let the vehicle go.  Its driver, who happens to dine and sometimes sleep in a house at Calbang (a community along the highway, a short distance from the Sta. Rita end of the San Juanico Bridge) - said 5 yellow-painted cute sportscar-like cabs like the one he was driving are now plying the city, and 10 more that are still painted white and to be painted yellow are soon to be registered with the Land Transportation Office.  All these new taxis, which sport the name “Jega Spider”, are owned by JEGA Corporation Inc., a transport services outfit, which is preparing a fleet for the transport units needed once Robinson’s mall opens at Marasbaras, Tacloban.  The corporate owner’s address is at Jega Bldg. in San Jose, Tacloban.  According to the driver, the corporation is proud to announce that the JEGA Spider taxis are “fast and economical, sleek and comfortable” and, with reliable drivers, they go out on the road for a 24-hour service “anywhere in Metro Tacloban”.  Ah, I see, I said.  This could be part of the “highly urbanized city” pursuit of Alfred.  These taxis emerged only at this time that Alfred is into his second year of his first term as city mayor and when he is praying hard for the approval of President Gloria Arroyo to make Tacloban a “HUC”.  A taxi going to Basey for some weeks now only suggests that Basey is part of the concept of “Metro Tacloban”.  Make no mistake about it.  I have no objections.  In fact, I heartily welcome both the taxi and the HUC drives.

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Cogon, a big barrio of Basey with a total warm body population of 1,500 (including those at its two sitios of Cambabang [between Cogon and the next barrio of Cancaiyas, and surrounded by lowland ricefields] and Guinpongdoan [nestling on a mountain and accessible from Bulao - an agrarian reform community - and Cancaiyas] and part of the houses at sitio Macaranas of New San Agustin) is gearing to score triple successes in its Gulayan sa Barangay project.  Thanks to the initiative and efforts of kagawad Ramon J. Gad.  When he was still the village chief, Cogon bought a piece of private land which soon was converted into a barangay plaza (well, it has a cemented basketball court that is a favorite playing ground for children and adults for many years now).  A few months ago, Ramon, the barangay council agriculture committee chair, has asked the constituents to cultivate the spacious vacant lot on the “ilawod” side of the plaza.  After a series of “pintakasi”, plots emerged, one set immediately planted to upo, patola, okra and hantak by 14 members of the Lupong Tagapayapa who also built a fence around their yard and a “balayan nga pakamburan” (trellis, a latticework for plants) all from bamboo that is available in the barrio.  Another set was completed by the local barangay health workers who soon planted their assigned lot with upo, patola and hantak.  When revisited by me last Sunday to retrieve the CLOA from Guinpongoan, the third set was already completed with 3 long rows of plots which would be used for demonstration planting of Ampalaya seeds by Neil Anasarias, a technician of the municipal agriculturist’s office.  This set, prepared by 4 tanod members, has another plot reserved for eggplant and its far “ilawod” end is already planted to okra and hantak.  Ramon had been frequenting the agriculturist’s office for seeds to be planted and for technology to be imparted.  Ador Amascual had appreciated that and has not hesitated for once.  He gave Ramon a 300- or 340-gram can of “Isabel(a?)” Ampalaya seeds which are sold in Quezon City and this is what the tanod will be growing, and, harvesting after 4 or 6 months.  Ramon told all planters to own their harvests and divide among themselves the income from their harvests and then to continue planting in their assigned areas at the plaza.

Teodorico D. Porbus, an avid supporter of the vegetable production project of mayor Wilfredo O. Estorninos and president of Baktas Kabub’wason Rural Workers Association, assured Ramon of a ready market for their ampalaya.  Dioring accompanied me to Cogon to also look into the progress of the local tuba-tuba planting activities.  He had opened a new tuba-tuba nursery in his birthplace at barrio Villa Aurora, one which will soon be yielding long and healthy ampalaya vegetables.  He said, his cousin, a big marketer in Tacloban, is ready to buy all the harvests from all the ampalaya gardens in Basey.  He stressed that Tacloban seems no longer to be buying its supply of ampalaya and other vegetables outside of Leyte.  This trend will continue because many Leytenhon are now into vegetable production, and now, Basaynon will hop into the band wagon, although not conscious of the fact that they are already indirectly supporting the highly urbanized city bid of the Taclobanon.

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At past 7 p.m. last Sunday, a car with red plate SES 576, apparently with one rider apart from the driver, was moderately running Salazar street to Sen. Enage street and onward.  A cab driver commented, “bilib, an gobyerno natrabaho bis’ gab-i hit Domingo”.  I said to myself, “tuod ito, kay bis’ ako.”